Military Spending by Country in 1972
In 1972, United States had the world's largest military budget at $605.4 billion, while Israel spent the highest share of its economy on defense at 20.4% of GDP.
Data updated: July 7, 2026
Full ranking
| Rank | Country | USD (millions) | Percent of GDP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $605,380M | 6.52% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $59,288M | 5.17% |
| 3 | Germany | $56,744M | 3.15% |
| 4 | France | $38,708M | 3.23% |
| 5 | Italy | $20,554M | 2.39% |
| 6 | Japan | $16,146M | 0.84% |
| 7 | Canada | $11,858M | 2.01% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $11,790M | 2.82% |
| 9 | Spain | $11,462M | 2.32% |
| 10 | Israel | $10,416M | 20.37% |
| 11 | Australia | $10,368M | 2.69% |
| 12 | India | $9,861M | 3.72% |
| 13 | Sudan | $7,491M | 4.19% |
| 14 | Belgium | $7,482M | 2.88% |
| 15 | Switzerland | $7,257M | 1.97% |
| 16 | Poland | $7,021M | — |
| 17 | Sweden | $5,784M | 3.41% |
| 18 | Saudi Arabia | $5,698M | 10.08% |
| 19 | Argentina | $4,902M | 1.82% |
| 20 | Brazil | $4,703M | 2.44% |
| 21 | Greece | $4,382M | 3.96% |
| 22 | Peru | $4,097M | 3.63% |
| 23 | Denmark | $3,806M | 2.18% |
| 24 | Portugal | $3,794M | 4.06% |
| 25 | Egypt | $3,695M | 13.56% |
| 26 | South Korea | $2,971M | 5.01% |
| 27 | Hungary | $2,844M | 3.27% |
| 28 | Turkey | $2,770M | 3.45% |
| 29 | Norway | $2,756M | 3.29% |
| 30 | Austria | $2,384M | 1.20% |
| 31 | Nigeria | $2,363M | 5.39% |
| 32 | Ecuador | $2,264M | 1.99% |
| 33 | Pakistan | $1,795M | 6.87% |
| 34 | New Zealand | $1,722M | 2.18% |
| 35 | Mexico | $1,636M | 0.54% |
| 36 | South Africa | $1,573M | 2.37% |
| 37 | Thailand | $1,539M | 3.47% |
| 38 | Finland | $1,506M | 1.53% |
| 39 | Philippines | $1,462M | 2.34% |
| 40 | Singapore | $1,318M | 5.09% |
| 41 | Chile | $1,223M | 6.63% |
| 42 | Jordan | $981M | 18.36% |
| 43 | Iran | $929M | 2.28% |
| 44 | Colombia | $883M | 1.97% |
| 45 | Malaysia | $839M | 4.98% |
| 46 | Iraq | $828M | 10.64% |
| 47 | Kuwait | $719M | 2.04% |
| 48 | Uganda | $703M | 4.06% |
| 49 | Oman | $635M | 14.86% |
| 50 | Uruguay | $628M | 2.20% |
| 51 | Morocco | $625M | 2.84% |
| 52 | Ireland | $616M | 1.33% |
| 53 | Myanmar | $468M | 5.45% |
| 54 | Kenya | $413M | 1.54% |
| 55 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | $295M | 0.00% |
| 56 | Guatemala | $292M | 1.14% |
| 57 | Libya | $268M | 3.71% |
| 58 | Algeria | $260M | 1.80% |
| 59 | Ethiopia | $241M | 1.94% |
| 60 | Ivory Coast | $225M | 1.70% |
| 61 | El Salvador | $196M | 0.88% |
| 62 | Dominican Republic | $187M | 1.99% |
| 63 | Tanzania | $174M | 3.43% |
| 64 | Cameroon | $173M | 1.76% |
| 65 | Bolivia | $155M | 1.60% |
| 66 | Paraguay | $136M | 3.85% |
| 67 | Trinidad and Tobago | $121M | 0.84% |
| 68 | Honduras | $118M | 1.84% |
| 69 | Tunisia | $106M | 1.41% |
| 70 | Ghana | $99M | 1.43% |
| 71 | Somalia | $92M | 0.45% |
| 72 | Sri Lanka | $85M | 1.19% |
| 73 | Bahrain | $79M | — |
| 74 | Luxembourg | $76M | 0.82% |
| 75 | Madagascar | $63M | 1.49% |
| 76 | Republic of the Congo | $50M | 3.53% |
| 77 | Mali | $36M | 2.38% |
| 78 | Gabon | $29M | 1.55% |
| 79 | Nepal | $27M | 0.65% |
| 80 | Togo | $25M | 1.48% |
| 81 | Burundi | $24M | 1.46% |
| 82 | Burkina Faso | $19M | 1.14% |
| 83 | Sierra Leone | $19M | 0.95% |
| 84 | Benin | $18M | 1.49% |
| 85 | Malawi | $9M | 0.60% |
| 86 | Fiji | $4M | 0.25% |
| 87 | Mauritius | $3M | 0.20% |
| 88 | Costa Rica | $0M | 0.00% |
| 89 | Iceland | $0M | 0.00% |
| 90 | Nicaragua | $0M | 1.87% |
| 91 | Syria | — | 10.77% |
| 92 | Lebanon | — | 5.09% |
| 93 | Venezuela | — | 2.83% |
| 94 | Zimbabwe | — | 2.18% |
| 95 | Liberia | — | 1.10% |
Data source: SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. Values are in constant 2024 US dollars.